# Is Cigars International out of business?



## mgkrebbs (Apr 14, 2007)

I only received half of an order that I placed last week and when I tried to call the customer service number I got "You call did not go through." Their web sites have been down several times this week (including right now) and I'm wondering if I got stuck. Not a huge order at $30 but they've always been my favorite place to shop. 

If CI is listening, please let us know what is going on here.


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## sboyajian (Jun 27, 2008)

Nah.. CI is not out of business.. 

I believe there is a Verizon circuit in the Northeast PA area that is causing some major issues (many sites have been affected -- CI, CBid, Cigar.com, CigarMonster, etc).. 

some are up, some are not. the CI sites comes up every once in a while.

Perhaps the number you have is not the right number.


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## themoneycollector (Apr 18, 2007)

The websites have been out for a few days now. This must be costing them some serious business. You can get through every once in a while.


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## Nickerson (Mar 19, 2009)

Wow, still down for me too. This is bad lol...

I'm in the business of webhosting, web design, web development. I been with my new hosting company for 2 months and they are the best I've ever been with. I'm paying $10.00 a month for a reseller account and it comes with all the features and extras that companies are charging $40.00+ a month for. It runs as fast as any website on the internet and has had 100% uptime since I been with them. Really is phenomenal.

Good hosting is key to any successful website/business.


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## mgkrebbs (Apr 14, 2007)

sboyajian said:


> Nah.. CI is not out of business..
> 
> I believe there is a Verizon circuit in the Northeast PA area that is causing some major issues (many sites have been affected -- CI, CBid, Cigar.com, CigarMonster, etc)..
> 
> ...


Actually, I got through on the phone this time using the same number. Apparently there is a big issue like you said with the PA area internet and VOIP phone systems. One person I talked to at Cigar.com said therer may be some anti-tobacco denial of service attacks. It's Rob Reiner up to his dirty tricks again!


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## havanajohn (Apr 4, 2009)

I am also annoyed with this problem. I missed out on bidding on two Opus X auctions on Famous' auction website Cigar Auctioneer. Pissed... There are some tough to find cigars coming up in the near future though. A Opus X BBMF natural on July 29 @ 9:00p.m., a Opus X BBMF Maduro on August 1 @ 9:00 p.m., and a Opus X Chili Pepper on July 20 @9:00 p.m.


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## tx_tuff (Jun 16, 2007)

I was wondering what was up with Cigar Monster! Funny thing is I check it when I think about it but have never bought anything from there. With Cbid being down also I'm sure some are saving money LOL.


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## smokin'Jef (Jul 2, 2007)

My website use for them was choppy all week, but was able to get thru on the phone to place an order. When the order showed up on my doorstep, I got 20 of the wrong cigars. Called em up and they're sending me what I ordered along with a return label to send back the wrong ones.


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## sboyajian (Jun 27, 2008)

Nickerson said:


> Wow, still down for me too. This is bad lol...
> 
> I'm in the business of webhosting, web design, web development. I been with my new hosting company for 2 months and they are the best I've ever been with. I'm paying $10.00 a month for a reseller account and it comes with all the features and extras that companies are charging $40.00+ a month for. It runs as fast as any website on the internet and has had 100% uptime since I been with them. Really is phenomenal.
> 
> Good hosting is key to any successful website/business.


Standard hosting packages like that should cost little to nothing as you are simply paying for hard drive space and a very tiny fraction of their bandwidth. Both of which are very cheap nowadays.

CI, Cigar.com, CigarBid and CigarMonster are all hosted at DBS International Datacenter in Bethlehem PA.

Considering redundancy, load balancing, anti-virus, switches, routers, firewalls, ISAs, etc.. I would expect they probably pay around 2000 - $2500 a month (if they own the equipment) for their hosting.


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## dubels (Jun 21, 2009)

Imagine placing a dollar big on a nice box and the site going down so no more bids could go through. I wonder if they would give you the box for a dollar


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## Rev2010 (Sep 3, 2008)

Wow, this outage must be costing them a fortune in lost business  I hope it gets resolved soon.



Rev.


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## sboyajian (Jun 27, 2008)

dubels said:


> Imagine placing a dollar big on a nice box and the site going down so no more bids could go through. I wonder if they would give you the box for a dollar


 according to the legal terms agreed upon to use the site, they have to.


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## 92hatchattack (May 30, 2009)

this is odd, ive had no problem with the CI or Cbid sites at all.


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## Cigar Man Andy (Aug 13, 2008)

I've had no problem with CI but can't get Cigar Monster @ Famous.


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## Raybird (Oct 17, 2008)

Same here, no Cigar Monster or CI website. Recieved an order from CI right on time last week though.


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## Toulouse (Apr 22, 2009)

My wife might be jamming their site ... After seeing my last cbid invoice she's likely to try anything to keep me from buying more. :lol:


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## Juicestain (Jul 10, 2009)

Cigar Man Andy said:


> I've had no problem with CI but can't get Cigar Monster @ Famous.


Same here. Monster is in and out randomly for me.


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## 8ball (Feb 17, 2006)

At least it's cutting down on my spending.


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## Sirhuffsalot (May 8, 2009)

I called CI twice this weekend, and once today, did`nt have even a 2 minute wait getting ahold of someone.

Thier site has been having problems, but the phone service was 100% for me.

Cheers,
Randyl


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## Shriner4cigars (May 25, 2009)

I have had trouble all week with CI and Famous. I get emails for the daily deal but the link does not work. Famous is kinda working today for me. :banghead:


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## bilingue23 (Jun 7, 2009)

I almost had an anxiety attack reading the thread title. Don't do that to me! haha. I have two orders with CI that are on their way, supposed to be here tomorrow. I'm sure everything will check out, like usual.


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

Still humming along. I rec'd my latest shipment right on time. They even found time to send me some missing screws for my humi while dealing with their website crisis. Thumbs up to Cbid! :third:


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## FN in MT (Jan 22, 2008)

Their site Down again at 0735 MST. They have got to be losing a ton of business.


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## dinoa2 (Feb 7, 2008)

havanajohn said:


> I am also annoyed with this problem. I missed out on bidding on two Opus X auctions on Famous' auction website Cigar Auctioneer. Pissed... There are some tough to find cigars coming up in the near future though. A Opus X BBMF natural on July 29 @ 9:00p.m., a Opus X BBMF Maduro on August 1 @ 9:00 p.m., and a Opus X Chili Pepper on July 20 @9:00 p.m.


just wondering how you have advance notice of what is coming up
and they will fill the rest of your order (for our first poster) with swedish meatballs from the home company


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## havanajohn (Apr 4, 2009)

dinoa2 said:


> just wondering how you have advance notice of what is coming up
> and they will fill the rest of your order (for our first poster) with Swedish meatballs from the home company


 Hi, Jerry . I went to the auction site, and set up an account. Then I set up a 'watch list'. When I check the 'watch list' the upcoming auctions for items on the list show up, with the dates/times of the auctions.


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## teedles915 (Jun 18, 2009)

Man they have to be losing a crazy amount of business. Customer loyalty is a HUGE thing. If people check several times and the sites are down they will eventually start checking less and less. I know both ci and famous are great companies but they need to do something.

I'm sitting here wanting to browse and probably place an order but can't do it. I'm only going to patient for a little while, then I will take my business elsewhere. I will probably pay more and the service won't be near as good but it will be service. 

If I wasn't craving some La Floridita Limited Editions from Famous, I would already had my order placed with JR.


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## Jim2903 (Jul 2, 2009)

This is turning out to be a new morning tradition -- down all day, back up at night. Was down most of yesterday; I got on last night, ordered the One-Day Deal ... this morning, back in the crapper. This is why hackers need to be executed.


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## DBCcigar (Apr 24, 2008)

No excuse for only getting 1/2 your order.

Call them!


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## Mortanis (Jul 12, 2009)

For the technically inclined, and to elaborate further, doing a Ping Trace reveals that there's significant packet loss right around DBS International, CI's hosting facility, and then in the last hop 100% packet loss. Data isn't getting through to them.

There are a bunch of IP ranges (Class C's usually) that DBS Internaional has bound to them. Some of the addresses work fine right now. Some do not. Right now, the CI addresses aren't working. However, given that the 100% packet loss is happening inside the DBS International network, it's unlikely a regional thing. 

It could be CI's internal network at the Host - pretty much anything in the same Class C as CigarsInternational.com is currently unresponsive, while other Class C's in DBSi's network are fine. However, given that one hop up there's medium to heavy packet loss, I'd say part of DBSi's network is being problematic.

I do web hosting for a living, dealing with large, multi-server environments like CI is likely in. If it IS DBSi, I'd wonder what's up with them - my host facility has triple-redundant connections and automatic routing for problems like that, so perhaps it really is CI themselves.


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## ribletman (Jun 30, 2009)

I am beginning to think it is a fed investigation into computer terrorists whom have attacked the cigar industry. Not only the CI family sites, but others had problems all at the same time including Duque cigars (back up) and Cigar Place (still down). Either the fed is trying to keep them quiet so they can have a better chance at catching the criminals, or the prolems they caused are still wrecking havoc.

All theory, but with so many cigar sites that are not even CI related down at the same time, I really wonder.


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## zackly (Jun 27, 2008)

*Is the Monster deceased?*



Juicestain said:


> Same here. Monster is in and out randomly for me.


Maybe Cigar Monster is dead as a stand alone site?
It can be accessed from the Famous Smoke Shop homepage. In fact I just ordered a bundle of their Famous Nicaraguan 4000.


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## suretolose (Jul 8, 2009)

Maybe the state of Minnesota is trying to figure out how much tax I owe them.


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## Raybird (Oct 17, 2008)

CI site seems to be running at the moment...


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## Jim2903 (Jul 2, 2009)

Nope -- still down, seconds ago ...


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## apevia (Jul 18, 2009)

I placed an order last night....is it not going to ship today because the site is down?!?!? How upsetting!


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## cherrymax (Jun 6, 2009)

No. Apparently there is a server or routing problem in that area of the state. Famous and Cigarmonster are experiencing the same intermittant outage. Fortunately, my order is being delivered today.


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## Jim2903 (Jul 2, 2009)

Another day without CI ... :banghead:

On the bright side, I'm not spending anymore money ... except during those brief windows when the site comes back up ...


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## jedipastor (Sep 21, 2008)

I assume you guys have heard by now that CI and Famous (as well as all affiliated cites, such as cbid) were (and still are) victims of cyber-terrorism, specifically DDoS attacks. I haven't heard whether any headway is being made by the FBI, but they are notorious for dragging their feet in these cases. 

Personally, I am suspicious of the anti-tobacco lobby, who feels that under the current administration they essentially have a blank check for their activities. I find that more plausible than thinking that a competitor site was responsible.


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## 2Curious (May 30, 2009)

*Organized DDoS Attack against Cigar Webites!*



jedipastor said:


> I assume you guys have heard by now that CI and Famous (as well as all affiliated cites, such as cbid) were (and still are) victims of cyber-terrorism, specifically DDoS attacks. I haven't heard whether any headway is being made by the FBI, but they are notorious for dragging their feet in these cases.
> 
> Personally, I am suspicious of the anti-tobacco lobby, who feels that under the current administration they essentially have a blank check for their activities. I find that more plausible than thinking that a competitor site was responsible.


There were lots of sites hit with this DDoS attack simultaneously! I started a list here...http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-cigar-discussion/253465-monster-back.html#post2662220
anyone know of anymore.

The sites and companies I know so far that were affected, are big and small. This was organized and planned. Scary!


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## Rasor (Jul 29, 2010)

CI down yet again? Anyone else having issues?


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## rob51461 (Aug 19, 2010)

back up


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## Rasor (Jul 29, 2010)

Hrmm. still down for me. Or wasn't up long  Maybe its a cache problem. I'll check that.


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## Blaylock-cl (Apr 28, 2006)

I'm going to close this one up since most of the 40+ posts are over a year old. We can always start a new thread if there's a need to discuss this further.


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